Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1887-05-11

parlor of the Rhett mansion, one of th
large and handsome houses so common OF
all the river frontage of old Charleston
Divested of its costly and elaborate decora
tions that had gone to swell this or tina
Confederate fund, the great room locke,
barren, chilly, and forbidding. Candle
were almost an unattainable luxury then
the city gas-works had long been wrecked
by exploding shells-and some homemade
device of illumination only lit up the littl'
space occupied by the lover and bride ane
clergyman. Save for the brilliant uniform
| of the soldier and the white robes of tn,
priest of the Episcopal Church there seem
ed no color or warmth in the apartment -
Finery appropriate to the wedding ceremo
MES of distinguished people was not to bs
found in the Confederacy, and while the
dozen of guests were men and women who
had known the opulent and luxurious life
of good society in the ante-bellnm days o.
Charleston they were now reduced to home
spuns and coarse cottens. With the harsh
discordance of the bombardment filling
their ears, and with the knowledge that the
bridegroom must at once quit his wifs'i
side for service with his command, sense
of apprehension and sorrow brooded ovel
the assemblage. The most serene and self
possessed of all present, the newspaper re.
ports said, was Miss Pickens, whose state
ly beauty was heightened by contrast with
the surroundings.
WHEN THE SHELL BURST.
The clergyman's voice broke the silence
OF the group with the reading of the mar.
riage form, and he had just reached the in.
terrogatories when the horrible roar of a
shell vastly louder than those flying over
the distant sections of the city drowned
every other sound. 1t came from an ad.
vanced battery that General Foster had re.
Gently opened we'll up on the inner side oil
Morris island and within four mile range
OF the Rhett residence. The 200 pounds OF
iron loaded with incendiary material des-
crl0ed a trajectory that ended upon the
roof OF the house, from whence it crashed
through the intermediate floors and burst
in the midst Of the wedding party.
When the sitting smoke had cleared
away and men could breathe free from the
suftocating fumes of the powder the apart
ment-its walls and ceiling partly blown
out, its furniture knocked into chips, blood
spattered everywhere, fragments Of human
forms strewing the foors-was scene OF
indescribable terror. Three of the wedding
guests had been instantly killed, and not
person in the room had escaped injury of
some sort. Lieutenant de Rochelle and
the clergyman were only slightly hurt, but
Miss Plckens was PROSTATE and saturated
with the blood that streamed from where
her shoulder had been cruelty torn by a
fragment of the shell. A surgeon pro-
nounced her dead, but when she was laid
upon couch she slightly revived and en-
dsavored to speak, each heave of her breast
causing the blood to flow in an increasing
current.
De Rochelle approached her side and
placed his ear close to the lips that were
painfully struggling to utter intelligible
words. Her eyes sought the clergyman
with look that begged him to draw nigh.
He did SO, and de Rochelle, catching as by
inspiration her meaning, asked her if she
would have the remainder of the ceremony
performed before she died. Again she
made the effort to speak and failed, and the
surgeon warned them that her life was
ebbing fast; but the consent which she
could not voice found expl ession in an in
Election of the head.
Then the clergyman, with his robe stain
ed from the wound he had received, stood
over the couch of the dying woman, whose
hand had sought that of her lover, and pro.
ceeded with the reading of the holy ritual
in the apartment from which the slain had
not yet been removed and where the blood
was still fresh and reeking When he put
the question whether she would have the
man beside her for her welded husband her
attempt to answer brought on the parox-
ysms of mortal dissolution. Foam flecked
her lips and her face became ashen gray,
but with final and supreme exertion she
81 will,' Christmas came in at
midnight with the laundering diapason of
the never-silent cannonade, and the morn
ing sun broke upon the dead face of Mar
garet Pickens de Rochelle. And this is the
story told by the marble in the Christ
church home of the silent majority and re-
membered by Charlestonians unforgetful of
the beauty and grace of che daughter of
South Cardinals first war Governor.
A LECTURE ON HAsTY MARRIAGES.
When was young twas
then. Why, when folks was goin'
to get married, they took time and medi-
tated upon it, and kinder studied each 9TH
er out and reflected and considered, and
when they did get married-married from
top to toe-they expected to stay married;
there was mt no talk of divorces then. They
knew beforehand that they was TO ''hev
and to hold'' till grim death, and they most
usually did. But now young fellow sees
pretty gal, and asks her to marry him,
just as he'd ask her to take a walk, and
she's ready-"Yes, sir, and thank you too"
and they go and get married, with no
more realizing senss of their responsibility
than Cock Robin has when he twitters TO
Jennie Wren. Well, pretty soon they go
at it-she finds sac don't like his tobacco
smoke, and he don't like wife that can't
do anything but frizzle her hair-and so it
goes, from bad to worse, until at last they
sue for divorce-and they'll get it, too.
For what? Why, for uncomfortability of
temper! Now, did you ever? Uncomforta-
bility Of temper! Oh, Lordy!
''Incompatibilityo of temper" Mrs. Hutch
inson, the listener suggested.
eyes, / know it; said so; uncomforta-
bility Of temper-them's the words that
does it. Well, is there not uncomfortable
ty of temper in every family, and alters has
been and alters will be. Only, in good old
times they used to screw it down and keep
it under, and so you see they managed to
get along without none of your divorces.
CRUSHED CORN FOR FEED.-The econo-
my of crushed corn, in which the whole
corn and cob together are crushed fine and
used for feeding horses and mules, is now,
fortunately, becoming generally known and
understood. Mills for crushing are being
put into place at most of the leading grain
mills throughout the country, and in year
or two, no doubt, there will be one of them
within the reach Of every farmer. He will
then have only to take the whole corn to
the mill, without the trouble of shelling it,
and have it converted into meal for the
teams.
The economy of this meal is that the cob,
in which there is a good. deal of nutriment,
is crushed with the corn, and takes the
place in large measure of fodder or hay,
distending and filling the stomach, prevent
ing impaction, and performing all the Off
ces of long forage. 1t increases the value
of the feed one half in bulk and one-fourth
in nutrition while the cost is not more than
a tenth. 1t would pay large farmers to
have crusher of their own.-1nder-Ap-
peal.
A Lucky Man.
ga lucky man is rarer than white
crow :, cavc Juvpna1 and wa thiuk ha